Good-loop & The HAT Project:

a revolution in the digital economy

· Advertising,Data,Innovation,News

Almost everything we do online has value to someone. The sites we look at, the ads we watch, the data we create and share - this all has a buyer and a price. But we very rarely have any idea what that price is and we certainly don't have the tools or even the opportunity to demand something in exchange for the sale. Good-Loop and The HAT Project are both actively working on solutions which create a fairer, more open and more ethical value exchange for us, the people on the internet.

75% of the UK display ad market this year will be bought programmatically and the sector is growing faster than any other digital channel. As an industry, we are increasingly automating the advertising process and using artificial intelligence to identify, target & communicate with people all over the world.

However, with ad blocker adoption at an all-time-high and public confidence around personal data security & ad targeting in sharp decline, the industry is at risk of forgetting that behind the ‘data points’ and the ‘impressions’ we are ultimately talking to human beings. Humans who will have lasting, emotional reactions to their online experiences. Humans who will ultimately resent annoying or disrespectful adverts and who are becoming increasingly aware of their inherent value as a consumer and a data point. We have rights over our own data privacy & we deserve a fair value exchange in this whole process.

Because at the end of the day, if a brand doesn't treat me with respect online - am I really going to buy their sofa that's been following me around the internet since last Sunday?

The HAT (Hub of All Things) is an exciting and growing global community that contains data scientists, entrepreneurs, academics & individual internet users who want to create a revolution in the digital economy.

Everyone's 'HAT' is unique. It's a place for us to capture, manage, review and store all of our precious personal data in total safety and security. But crucially, it isn't a 'protective bubble' shielding and removing our data from the big-bad-world of advertising; rather it's a tool which shifts control from the seller or the buyer to the owner. Through your HAT you can choose how much data you'd like to make publically available, you choose who you'd like to sell it to, and you can receive something in exchange for that sale. HATs empower individuals and allow us all to create an open and transparent data & advertising marketplace where everyone can participate and receive a fair value exchange.

At Good-Loop we believe that the only way to make online advertising (and therefore all the things it supports & pays for) sustainable long term is to give the consumer an active role to play in the buying and selling of their value. This means allowing people to opt-in to advertising rather than have it forced upon them and this means allowing people to control and benefit from the value of their own data.

That's why we are creating an ethical video ad platform that embraces the scale & efficiency of automation whilst also 'cutting in' the consumer and offering them a fair value exchange in return for giving us their time and attention. And that's why, together with the HAT Project, we want to create a revolution in the digital economy where every time an individual creates value online - they know about it and are in control of it.

Because that's how we make the internet a more positive and profitable place.

If you would like to find out more about Good-Loop or The HAT project, please do get in touch.